Luke 19:3
Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.) Luke 19:3 appears in the Greek New Testament. The text above is from the Tischendorf 8th edition. Each word links to its Strong’s number and a concise gloss. Click any word for its full Thayer’s Greek Lexicon entry.He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn't because of the crowd, because he was short.
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Compare translations 3
The same verse in 3 English versions, stacked beneath the original-language interlinear above. Click any original word for its lexicon entry.
Each is an independent rendering of the whole verse — the interlinear is not word-aligned to these translations.
Highlighted words mark where these versions differ — a whole-verse word diff, not a word-by-word alignment.
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World English Bible Public Domain
He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn't because of the crowd, because he was short.
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King James Version Public Domain
And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
And he was trying to see Jesus, who he was, but he was not able from the crowd, because he was small in stature.
unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult).
Show all 19 translations
Every available English version of this verse, each an independent rendering of the whole verse.
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World English Bible Public Domain
He was trying to see who Jesus was, and couldn't because of the crowd, because he was short.
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Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature.
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Majority Standard Bible Public Domain
He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd because he was small in stature.
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King James Version Public Domain
And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
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American Standard Version (1901) Public Domain
And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the crowd, because he was little of stature.
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Revised Version (1885) Public Domain
And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the crowd, because he was little of stature.
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Geneva Bible (1599) Public Domain
And he sought to see Iesus, who hee should be, and coulde not for the preasse, because he was of a lowe stature.
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Douay-Rheims (1899) Public Domain
And he sought to see Jesus who he was, and he could not for the crowd, because he was low of stature.
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Young's Literal Translation Public Domain
and he was seeking to see Jesus, who he is, and was not able for the multitude, because in stature he was small,
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Literal Standard Version CC BY-SA 4.0
and he was seeking to see Jesus, who He is, and was not able for the multitude, because he was small in stature,
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Unlocked Literal Bible CC BY-SA 4.0
He was trying to see who Jesus was, but could not see over the crowd, because he was small in height.
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unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
And he was trying to see Jesus, who he was, but he was not able from the crowd, because he was small in stature.
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Darby Bible Public Domain
And he sought to see Jesus who he was: and he could not for the crowd, because he was little in stature.
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World Messianic Bible Public Domain
He was trying to see who Yeshua was, and couldn’t because of the crowd, because he was short.
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Webster's Bible Public Domain
And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the crowd, because he was little of stature.
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Free Bible Version CC BY-SA 4.0
He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he couldn't see over the crowd.
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Bible in Basic English Public Domain
Made an attempt to get a view of Jesus, and was not able to do so, because of the people, for he was a small man.
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Text-Critical English NT CC BY 4.0
He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he could not do so because of the crowd, for he was a short man.
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Tyndale New Testament (1534) Public Domain
And he made meanes to se Iesus what he shuld be: and coulde not for the preace because he was of a lowe stature.
Literal Standard Version (2020), Covenant Press — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). Unlocked Literal Bible (unfoldingWord) — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org). unfoldingWord Literal Text — © unfoldingWord, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Word-aligned USFM3 via Door43 (git.door43.org/unfoldingWord/en_ult). Free Bible Version, Dr. Jonathan Gallagher — licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API (eBible.org).
Word by word
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- Appears 8× in the Greek New Testament
- First appears at Matthew 6:27
- Part of Speech
- Noun
- Case
- Dative
- Number
- Singular
- Gender
- Feminine
Full Thayer's Definition
- καὶ kaí G2532 “and” Conjunction
- ἐζήτει zētéō G2212 “to seek” Verb, Imperfect, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
- ἰδεῖν horáō G3708 “to see” Verb, Aorist, Active, Infinitive
- τὸν ho G3588 “the” Article, Accusative, Singular, Masculine
- Ἰησοῦν Iēsoûs G2424 “Jesus” Noun, Accusative, Singular, Masculine
- τίς tís G5101 “who” Interrogative pronoun, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- ἐστιν eimí G1510 “to be” Verb, Present, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
- καὶ kaí G2532 “and” Conjunction
- οὐκ ou G3756 “not” Particle, Negative
- ἠδύνατο dýnamai G1410 “to be able” Verb, Imperfect, Middle or Passive deponent, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular, Attic form
- ἀπὸ apó G575 “from” Preposition
- τοῦ ho G3588 “the” Article, Genitive, Singular, Masculine
- ὄχλου óchlos G3793 “multitude” Noun, Genitive, Singular, Masculine
- ὅτι hóti G3754 “that” Conjunction
- τῇ ho G3588 “the” Article, Dative, Singular, Feminine
- ἡλικίᾳ hēlikía G2244 “age” Noun, Dative, Singular, Feminine
- μικρὸς mikrós G3398 “small” Adjective, Nominative, Singular, Masculine
- ἦν eimí G1510 “to be” Verb, Imperfect, Active, Indicative, 3rd person, Singular
About this verse
These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →
- 18
- words
- 14
- distinct lemmas
- Gospels
- section
Cross-references
3Topical passages linked to Luke 19:3 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge — connected by theme and wording, ordered by reader-vote popularity; previews shown in the World English Bible.
- Luke 23:8 Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceedingly glad, for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had heard many things about him. He hoped to see some miracle done by him.
- Luke 9:7–9 Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was done by him; and he was very perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead,
- John 12:21 These, therefore, came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we want to see Jesus."
Cross-references courtesy of OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0).
Lesson kit
Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.
Luke, in the Gospels, opens this verse with 18 words (14 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is hēlikía (“age”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.
Discussion questions
- What does “age” (hēlikía) contribute to the verse as a whole?
- Matthew 6:27 shares the word «age» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
- “to be” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
- These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
- Reading how Joseph Benson's Commentary and Bengel's Gnomon read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?
Things to notice
- These translations choose different wording for 11 words in this verse.
- “to be” occurs 2× in this single verse.
- 14 distinct Greek lemmas span 18 words in this verse.
Commentary
Notes on Luke 19:3 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.
Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →
Joseph Benson's Commentary
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Bengel's Gnomon
Johann Albrecht Bengel
Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Meyer's Critical & Exegetical Commentary
Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer
Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Expositor's Greek Testament
ed. W. Robertson Nicoll
The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill's Exposition
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Trapp's Complete Commentary
John Trapp
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Whedon's Commentary on the Bible
Daniel D. Whedon
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament
William Burkitt
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The People's New Testament
B. W. Johnson
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
unfoldingWord translationNotes
Door43 World Missions Community
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges
Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
International Critical Commentary
International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament
Marvin R. Vincent
Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.